"As to Bonaparte, he was well assured that nothing remained for him but to choose between that hazardous enterprise and his certain ruin."
-Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, by Bourrienne

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Nikkei back to 1984 prices

The 1980s were an incredible decade for Japan. From 1984 to 1990 the Nikkei rose fourfold from 10000 to 40000. Today it is at 9444. It has gone up and down and 24 years later it is right back where it started. Pretty depressing. Is it time to look at some Japanese stocks?

Over the same time the Dow went from about 1100, peaked around 14,000 and is now about 9447. The Dow and Nikkei are almost exactly at the same level. But in the case of the Dow it is up by a factor of 8.6.